001Good evening everyone. Since 5:32, the Board of Education has been in closed session to discuss uh the before discussion of minutes lawfully closed under the Open Meetings Act whether for purposes of school board approval of the minutes or semi-annual review of the minutes as mandated by the Act. The appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees or legal counsel including hearing testimony on a complaint lodged against an employee or legal counsel to determine its validity. Litigation when an action against affecting or on behalf of the school board has been filed and is pending before a court or administrative tribunal or when the school board finds an action is probable or imminent in which case the basis for the finding shall be recorded and entered into the minutes of the closed meeting. Collective negotiating
002matters between the school board and its employees or their representatives or deliberations concerning salary schedules for one or more classes of employees and student disciplinary cases. I will entertain a motion to come out of closed session. So moved. Second. Motion and a second have been heard. Please call the roll. McMillan I Gerke I Blastic I Wolensky I Kush I Kosminski I The motion passes. We are in open session. Good evening and welcome to the April 20th, 2026 Board of Education meeting. Our mission is to empower students to develop a learner's mindset, demonstrate adaptability, communicate effectively, think critically, and become global citizens. Please call the roll, Mrs. Patton. Board members present this evening, Charles Kush, Christine Gerke, Joe Kosminski, Amanda McMillan, Holly Blastic, and Mark Wolensky. Student ambassadors present, Khadija Rafathulla, and Lexa Kenday. All right.
003Please join us in welcoming the BB Bobcats who will be leading us in the Pledge of Allegiance this evening. Good evening everyone. I'm lucky enough to get to join these BB Bobcats. They're part of our fifth grade class, Bobcats on a mission, and they're going to introduce themselves to you. I am Ellery Sylvia and I'm in fifth grade, Miss Borja's class. I am Bridget Darger and I'm in fifth grade. I am Sophia Bodnar and I'm in fifth grade. I'm in I'm Leith Al-Jouharah and I'm in fifth grade. I'm Brian Molly and I'm in fifth grade. Okay, we'll ask you to stay right there. Actually move to here this way a little bit. Right there's good. Nope, back that way now. You can get in there with them. All right, Mrs. Patton's going to take your
004picture. There are any family or friends who'd like to take a closer picture, you are welcome to come up into the open area if you'd like to. Please feel free to come on down into this area if you want. Thanks for not being bashful. Thank you. All right, well let's thank the BB Bobcats for joining us tonight. Thank you very much. >> [applause] >> Okay. Item four, recognition. Item 4.01, good news. >> Yeah, we have a lot of good news to share tonight, a lot of good news actually. Uh Naperville 203 is proud to announce that Seth Brady at Naperville Central High School has been named the 2026 Illinois Teacher of the Year by the Illinois State Board of Education. >> [applause] >> State Superintendent Dr. Tony Sanders surprised Seth with the honor and a
005visit to Central last week. He was selected from 13 finalists across the state. Seth advanced to the state finals after being recognized earlier this year as the 2026 Far West Suburbs Regional Teacher of the Year. Been lucky to have him at Naperville Central since 2004. Congratulations, Seth. >> [applause] >> More than 400 businesses, parents, community, and education leaders attended the Naperville Education Foundation's 33rd annual breakfast benefit on April 16th. They enjoyed a morning of networking, a breakfast program, and student art and entertainment while showing their support for Naperville 203 students. The Naperville Education Foundation raises and grants funds for programs that enhance and enrich the educational experience of Naperville School District 203 students. Thank you to those who attended. >> [applause] >> Elmwood hosted its annual Taste of Elmwood Multicultural Evening on April 9th with
006families hosting booths to represent their cultures by sharing traditional foods, clothing, and special artifacts. The event was an incredible success with a wonderful turnout of staff, families, and friends who visited each booth, enjoyed the fashion show, and had their passports stamped as they traveled around the world at each cultural display. >> [applause] >> Kennedy eighth grader Asvatha Savalia and her sister, sixth grader Reva, uh were recognized for their entry into the C-SPAN Student Cam Documentary Competition. Their video, A A City's Dirty Secret About Coal-Powered Energy in Naperville, won honorable mention and a $250 prize. Student Cam is an annual documentary competition for middle and high school students around the country. This year, students had to examine the Declaration of Independence and how the values stated there impact their community. Congratulations. >> [applause] >> The Naperville
007School District 203 Art Open House Show held its opening reception on Tuesday, April 12th at the Naperville Municipal Center. Uh at the reception, students from K-12 shared the pieces that they made with their friends, family, and peers. The show features art made by 203 students from all grade levels showcasing a variety of mediums and artistic techniques. The full show will be on display at the Naperville Municipal Center until April 26th. Make sure to stop by and take a look. >> [applause] >> Last week, we took a visit to Connections Transition Services to hear from students about Micro Connections, a collection of hands-on student-run businesses located within the Connections building. These micro businesses give students authentic opportunities to build job skills, develop independence, collaborate with peers, and gain real-world work experience in a supportive environment. Ari,
008Seth, Chris, and Patrick absolutely nailed it when telling us all about the work they do in their micro businesses, which include the Bloom Room, Connections Candles, Connections Cricket Company, Connections Bread Bead Company, and Connections Corner, an on-site coffee and snack shop that features products from all Micro Connections businesses. Good job, everyone. >> [applause] >> Both the Naperville Central and Naperville North High School Veterans Clubs received a Make Kindness Count Award. The clubs were nominated for the award by Naperville Mayor Scott Wehrli. On the clubs, he said, "These clubs volunteer in our community for fundraising events that raise money for veterans. They visit local nurses homes, create care packages, and support service members." The Make Kindness Count Awards are presented by KidsMatter and the Collaborative Youth Team of Illinois highlighting the groups that lead in their
009communities with kindness. The Naperville Central Veterans Club is supported by Nicole Figi and Mike Pochesnki, and Naperville North Veterans >> [applause] >> And Husky Robotics Team 3061 hosted their showcase on Wednesday, April 15th at Naperville North High School. They introduced attendees to the season's game, shared their strategy, showed each of the sub teams, and demonstrated this year's robot. Team 3061 is Naperville North's first robotics competition team. Each year, they receive their challenge from FIRST and work to make their robot based on the challenge rules. They then compete against teams from across the world, most recently at the Midwest Regionals. Congratulations. That's our good news. All right, lots of great news actually. All right, item 4.02, student ambassador reports. Which one of you would like to go first? Okay, Khadija? Hi everyone. Um I know I
010haven't been here in a while, so my name's Khadija. Um I'm a senior. So, March 27th was our talent show to kick off our spring break. So, throughout the day, we had a lot of really amazing acts from teachers and students. And we also had a couple of our groups in school perform like Hawkappella and our drum show. Um we had an amazing spring break and got to see a lot of people's ducks over break and what they were doing on our activities page. And um we jumped right back into AP testing and getting ready for our AP tests. Underclassmen had state testing a couple weeks ago, so seniors had a really nice time off from school coming right back from break. Um our 4.0 awards were given out that on Wednesday of last week
011and prom was this Saturday at the Bolingbrook Golf Club. We had a really amazing turnout and it was really really fun. And um our senior art show will be held next week on April 29th in our main lobby and we have a lot of amazing artists and people who have entered and I heard there's some scholarships are coming out as well. And then at the end of the month, Theater Central is hosting Freaky Friday on in the auditorium from April 30th to May 2nd. So, definitely go check that out. People are working really really hard on that. And um both boys and girls lacrosse have are having a really good season compared to our past. Girls soccer was is currently undefeated, I believe. And our softball crosstown went really well. We won 10 to 5.
012And then we've started senior nights for spring sports and have a have had a really strong start to our season overall. And our senioritis has really kicked in. And uh seniors are really ready to graduate with only, I think, 19 school days left. Um that's insane. Wow. Um but I am so excited to graduate, but I'm also really sad to leave and not be a Redhawk anymore. These past 4 years here have been really amazing. And uh but next year I will be going to UIC and I'm majoring in mathematics on a pre-health track. So. >> [applause] >> Lux. My bad. Uh hello. My name is um I've been here a while, but I haven't Wait. Let me start over. I'm so sorry. Uh now you guys probably know me cuz I've cuz I've done
013this I did this last year, but I haven't been here in a while. But if you don't know, my name is Lux Ekinde. I'm currently a senior and I am also very excited to announce my commitment. I'm going to Sarah Lawrence College next year, which is all the way in New York. Uh we just got back from spring break and although that was a while ago, we had a lot of fun things uh that we did right before break. Starting off, we had our annual Airband on March 19th. And for those who don't know, it's basically the seniors just get to compete with each other by making groups and then dancing and lip-syncing to choreographed music and memes. And it was super fun to watch uh and I heard from just my classmates it was
014really fun to perform, too. Following Airband, we had our spring dance on March 21st and although I didn't personally attend, I heard many good things about it. Our first week back, as Kadisha mentioned, we also had our state testing uh with from our ACT and pre-ACT, which 2 days off is so good for me. Sorry. On April 11th, the seniors had their senior celebration, which was a surprise event with a lot of fun games and rewards. And I just want to give a big thank you to all the parents who helped out with the event. Moving on to some of our current events, this week is actually really packed. Our spring musical, The Little Mermaid, is this week on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday at 7:00 p.m. and this weekend both days at 2:00 p.m. Uh
015tickets are online or at the door. This Thursday, we also have our lip dub, which we haven't done for 4 years and I'm super lucky to be a part of this and I'm excited for how it's going to go. And this Sunday, actually, is our annual success meeting for the BSLA members, which is just a fun event to celebrate black seniors with games, foods, and there's a certificate for each senior. I'm super excited to go. Along with that, we have our freshman jamboree, which is next Monday on April 27th. And I know Central just had their prom this weekend, but our prom is in 2 weeks on May 2nd. This is my first prom and I'm really looking forward to it. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Okay, thank you both. That was great. Wonderful. All
016right, item 4.03, Superintendent's Student Advisory Council update. Dan? Not yet. Not yet? Got some recognitions first. >> Oh, sorry. My bad. We're going to start with national board certified teachers. >> So, uh Joanna Lapiana, can you join me, please? Uh congratulations to the 2025 national board certified teachers. The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards is one of the most prestigious credentials a teacher can earn. Those who achieve the status of National Board Certified Teacher have met rigorous standards through intensive study, expert evaluation, self-assessment, and peer review. To date, more than 90 teachers who are currently employed by District 203 have earned National Board Certification. They join 82,000 teachers throughout the country who have achieved this mark of excellence. And join us as one of our lead mentors for the cohort. And she's going to help
017me recognize those who received their uh initial and also renewals. Thank you very much. We have three initial candidates that we'd like to recognize tonight. Amy Hastings. >> [applause] >> Sarah Tatum. >> [applause] >> And Denise Torres. >> [applause] >> And we also have renewal candidates. So, every depending on when you initially certified, you need to recertify every 5 or 10 years. Uh we have uh Dr. David Carroll, who is not here. He's also our lead of our cohort. Damaris Cordero. >> [applause] >> Kate Kate Krenik. >> [applause] >> And Laura Warren. >> [applause] >> Congratulations. If you all can go stand like right over there, Mrs. Petry, I'll get your picture. You too, Joanna. But as they are standing for their picture, congratulations are indeed in order for the rigorous process that they must
018go through for their initial recognition also for being renewed. So, we appreciate their commitment to the professionalism. Great great work. >> [applause] >> Okay, we have some presidential scholars to recognize. I'm going to invite both principals, high school principals, to join me up up front to introduce those students. I'm going to offer an apology to many of our students. We apparently had a miscommunication. We don't have some of our certificates. We're going to recognize you and we'll have to send some of those certificates over to your schools. We apologize for that, but you will get the recognition that you deserve. And since Jackie's here first, we'll let her go ahead and start. Um let's see. Our students have been selected as candidates for the United States Presidential Scholars Program. The program was established in 1964
019by executive order of the President to recognize and honor some of the nation's most distinguished graduating seniors. Scholars are chosen for leadership and service to school and community. They demonstrate exceptional scholarship, visual, creative, and performing arts talent, and accomplishment in career and technical fields. Up to 161 US Presidential Scholars are chosen annually. All scholars are invited to Washington, D.C. in June for the National Recognition Program featuring events and enrichment activities including the Presidential Scholars Medallion presented during a White House-sponsored ceremony. So, congratulations to all of these students for their work. >> [applause] >> It's my honor to introduce you to the Presidential Scholars from Neuqua Valley Central. If they would join me up in front here. First, we have Stefan Ilic. >> [applause] >> Rohan Jain. >> [applause] >> Willie Jia. >> [applause] >> And
020Hannah Lee Young. >> [applause] >> Okay. And April North. Yeah, you guys can come on down up here. A few of our Naperville North Presidential Scholars are not able to join us tonight, but we're going to read everybody's name nonetheless. Um the first person who isn't here is Tabitha Black. >> [applause] >> We have Emily Fan. >> [applause] >> Arav Kular is here. >> [applause] >> Zoya Photowala. >> [applause] >> Krithik Prasad. >> [applause] >> Kendall Swiderski. >> [applause] >> Jeffrey Tong. Michelle Shiang >> [applause] >> and Aiden Shi. >> [applause] >> Okay, if we can get all of our scholars together, Mrs. Patton will take one quick picture. Again, we're extremely proud of all of our students for this uh incredible recognition. Mrs. Patton is going to hold her Oh, you got a good
021one? You good? Mrs. Patton will hold her hand up. Let's all look at her first. Then the paparazzi can get their pictures. All right, congratulations. >> [applause] >> Principal Oktal, I need you uh back up here. So, uh our Naperville North eSports Overwatch team competed at the I IHSEA State Finals and came away with uh title of state champions. The team continued their undefeated streak spanning the last three seasons, winning 13 straight matches this year. And this gives our eSports their eighth championship in club history. Congratulations. >> [applause] >> All right, it's my pleasure to interview uh introduce the eSports state champions. Um Rose Levine. >> [applause] >> Abraham Moon. >> [applause] >> Ray Park. >> [applause] >> Andy Shi. >> [applause] >> And Evan Witty. >> [applause] >> Uh also here tonight is head
022coach of the eSports teams, Chris Terpstra. >> [applause] >> And once again, if there's family or friends who'd like to come a little closer to take a picture, you're welcome to do so. All right. Now, item 4.06. Superintendent Student Advisory Council update. Okay, one of our favorite things that we get to do is work with uh a group of students who represent uh our five uh junior high schools, two high schools, and Connections. Uh they form the Superintendent Student Advisory Council. Dr. Raquel Leeks and Allison Boutte uh collaborate with me and actually take the majority of the lead on facilitating our meetings uh in terms of soliciting input from our students and ensuring we're amplifying our student voice. Uh so, they have been working over the course of the year on preparing recommendations to the
023board for consideration with the focus on student belonging. Turn it over to Ms. Boutte to introduce and speak a little bit about their work. Good evening. Tonight, it is my honor to introduce the student leaders of our 2025-2026 Superintendent Student Advisory Council, otherwise known as SSAC. Throughout this school year, these students who are sitting in the front row, and uh there were a few with other commitments tonight, but we will make sure at the end that we honor all of them. Um we have been focusing across the district um on utilizing student voice and gathering student voice in a different in different ways. And so, um they are representing grades 6 through 12. They've gathered regularly at the Alive Center here in Naperville to engage in deep collaborative work centered on elevating student voice and
024support of supporting positive change in our schools. Our mission has been rooted in providing these student leaders with a platform to offer meaningful student-driven feedback on different initiatives in the district, specifically focusing on our Panorama Survey results in the areas of school climate, school safety, diversity and inclusion, sense of belonging, cultural awareness, and rigorous expectations. So, tonight you will hear directly from them as they share insights and reflections and ideas around those areas that I just talked about. Um and they have uh been developing through different collaborative problem-solving and leadership activities ideas for our consideration building and district administration as well as the Board of Education just to keep in mind. We are incredibly proud of their perspectives and inclusive leadership that they bring to Naperville 203, and we are excited for you to see
025their impact of their work from this school year. So, to start, we have Team Lincoln and we'll be proceeding from Lincoln, Washington, Kennedy, Naperville Central, Naperville North, Madison, Jefferson, and then having a closing tonight. So, not every student that's here will speak. That was their choice um if they wanted to or not, but they uh will all be recognized then at the end with some certificates. Gavin. >> [applause] >> buddy. I'm hoping this microphone just Hi everyone. I'm Gavin. As stated, I am from Team Lincoln, and I'm here to share to give a little bit of intro and a little bit of information about our mission. So, the SSAC or Superintendent Student Advisory Council, I'm pretty sure all of you know that. Um is a group of Naperville 203 students ranging from grade 6 through
026grade 12. We work and collaborate together to find ways to help build our school community through analyzing data and participating in group discussions. And I know you guys are thinking, "Oh, they're just doing this to miss school." No, we're not. This is very important because it allows the district to get the student point of view. This helps grow and improve our schools to make it safe and comfortable to learn and grow in our schools. So, the SSAC, we met five times this year with students from Jefferson, Kennedy, Lincoln, Madison, Washington, Naperville Central, Naperville North, and Connections. It was truly awesome talking about the Student Perception Survey and really learning how we can make the student experience so much better for everybody. I mean, we kind of talked about, you know, making students feel safe, welcome,
027and comfortable really speaking their mind. Finally, our theme this year at the SSAC is Listening to Lead. This means we aren't just sharing our opinions. We are using our lived experiences to guide the adults who make the big decisions. By analyzing our Panorama Survey and through the discussion activities, we have identified where our schools are thriving and where we may need to grow. Now, I'd like to invite Team Washington, aka Henry, to talk about our first meeting. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Hi. My name is Henry and I am from Team Washington. During our first SSAC meeting, we spent time discussing the the three specific panoramic panoramic data points around the school climate. How far how fair the rules are, how excited our teachers seem, and most importantly, how well students are actually following the
028rules. This made us wonder if if the root causes of of these responses might be a lack of clarity on what it might what exactly might be being asked. Well, while we approached our teach- while we approached our teachers' engagement in us um and the high schools' expectations, the group the group notes showed that there is a disconnect in how rules are perceived or understand it across different buildings. One thing that we identified is that we might need clearer and more consistent teaching of school rules at both the middle school and the middle schools and high schools. Well, we also provide this specific feedback on the panoramic survey questions and response choices to make sure that the data we collect in the future will be even more accurate. Um I'm going to hand it off
029to the Kennedy team. >> [applause] >> Hello, I'm Vivaan Agarwal from Team Kennedy in 7th grade. In our belonging snapshot, many students describe their school experience as being relatively on upward trend in the past few surveys. From spring 2025 to fall 2025, there was a 12% increase in positive responses. This is very good as it means more and more students feel like they belong at school. They want to come to school, learn, and connect with people. >> [applause] >> Hello, my name is Aliya Setkowski from team Kennedy and I'm in eighth grade. We analyzed the huge jump in belonging and believe it was caused by several important changes in our school communities. Many students mentioned feeling more supported by teachers checking in on them, joining new clubs and activities, and having more opportunities to connect
030with classmates during advisory and lunch time. We think these experiences help students feel more included, more heard, and more confident that they matter at school. To keep this momentum, our school should stop ignoring student voices when making decisions that affect us and stop allowing unkind behavior such as bullying or exclusion to go unnoticed. Students should also start creating more structured based structured based opportunities for students to build relationships like peer moderating, peer moder- mentoring, in- interest based clubs and team building activities in classes, and start regularly asking students for feedback about what helps them feel welcome, safe, and valued to ensure every student feels they belong. >> [applause] >> Good evening. My name is Liam Alan Wagner and I am a sophomore at Naperville Central High School and I've been on the SSAC for 4
031years now. As the NCHS student group, we define inclusion as an environment where every child is valued and safe regardless of background. We noticed through the Panorama Survey conducted in every junior high and high school in District 203 that 73% of students collaborate and spend time at school with peers from different races, ethnicities, and cultures from their own. We also notice that 81% of students in our schools said that they see students treating each other fairly regardless of race, ethnicity, and culture. We are not only noticing tremendous growth from our students, but also from our staff as 87% of students responding that the staff in their schools treat people fairly from different races, cultures, and ethnic backgrounds. Through the data, we have noticed a tremendous amount of inclusion and diversity in our schools, which is
032something that we should absolutely be taking pride in. >> [applause] >> Hi there, my name is Liam Thomas from Naperville Central. I'm a freshman. We wondered why inclusion can feel difficult at times, specifically regarding students who desire better space to collaborate and share opinions, while others choose to be self-centered and not collaborate with other students. Our big question moving forward is how can we learn how to better shape students' experiences to collaborate with each other more regardless of their background. >> [applause] >> Hi again. Um so we went and we met with each other and we tried to figure out ways to figure out and foster a more inclusive and inner circle and we decided that a really good idea was to create a more structured setting for our students from different communities in our
033school and um to collaborate with each other through different clubs and other school wide events. >> [applause] >> Hi everyone, my name is Anushka Anand and I'm currently a sophomore at Naperville Central High School along with being a 4-year member at SSAC. Adults in our buildings should consider the student perspectives when considering how to foster better relationships with students and figure out how to best tailor lessons to students' needs to be better to help foster closer relationships with the students and include a wide variety of learning needs and experiences to help students learn and grow. >> [applause] >> Hello everyone, my name is Hadley Benson and together with my peers from Naperville North, we are privileged to present our report on school safety from a student's point of view. Working together at SSAC across all
034middle and high school, we have concluded that students feel the safest while they have available resources for a multitude of scenarios. One safety concern concern that is most prevalent now more than ever is cyberbullying and online and online disrespect. We are grateful that District 203 has worked closely with the Naperville Police Department on the Report Not Repost campaign targeting cyberbullying. As a group, we recommend that there is wider recognition of this program for students and the community. Additionally, in order to target online bullying specifically, it is helpful to have resources displayed on the monitors throughout the school as well as contact points available to students. We are grateful for the commitment that the district has made to student safety across all forms. Next, I'd like to introduce Lux speaking on exploring scenarios regarding safety. >>
035[applause] >> As Hadley mentioned, we explored scenarios like online bullying and although it's still a common occurrence at our respective schools, it has been getting better through the years as shown on the Panorama surveys. Looking at the data and discussing our own experience during our SSA meetings, we have found that student leaders often see disrespect not disrespect online in the form of students posting inappropriate content to make fun of or bullying classmates, especially those in minority groups, as well as general posts made with bad intentions. Because this is still happening, we discussed how to minimize the cyberbullying and let me introduce Andrew who will be talking about the solutions. >> [applause] >> Hello everyone. My name is Andrew Hebron. I'm a senior at Naperville North and a 4-year SSAC member. Um my job right now
036is to talk about how the things we notice turn into action. Our group focused on student leadership and how it could directly impact school safety. A specific leadership skill we want to model is to support our peers is called active upstanding. We found that while students want to help, they often don't know what to say at the moment or how to help. Therefore, we recommend a peer-to-peer awareness campaign for District 203. Since over half of us aren't aware this resource existed, our act is to move tools from the back to the front of student conversation. By making these resources common knowledge, we create a culture where Report Not Repost isn't just a slogan, but a standard student practice. And today we are missing Victor Tyson. He wrote, "Overall, we believe you should know that school
037safety in 2026 is a commitment to governance and culture rather than just physical hardware. Your responsibility lies in establishing policy, ensuring fiscal support for both physical security and mental health initiatives, and maintaining oversight through regular vulnerability audits. By focusing on the standard of care that balances hardened defenses with support systems, you ensure the district moves beyond reactive measures toward a proactive, data-driven environment where safety is integrated into everyday life." >> [applause] [applause] >> Hello, my name is Ashley Wolf and I'm an eighth grader at Madison Junior High School. During our March meeting, we reviewed the data from the Panorama Survey on cultural awareness and action. We noticed that the average percentage of students who feel that their school does well at promoting cultural awareness has decreased 11% from the spring to fall of 2025. We
038examined the survey questions to try to identify the source of this major decrease. Despite what the numbers may seem, we determined that the option of sometimes is negatively impacting the data. These results helped us realize that the neutral answer in the Panorama Survey may be misunderstood by students. Before this meeting, I was unaware that the option of sometimes contributed to the negative part of the data instead of staying neutral. If we change the answer to saying neutral, we would see an increase of the percentage of students who feel comfortable about their cultural and social awareness in their school. Even with the confusion around the option sometimes, that cannot occur for the that cannot account for the whole 11% drop. We discussed in our meeting how to increase social awareness and empathy. We talked about encouraging
039students to start clubs that will bring awareness to their cultures. This will let students become more cognizant of other cultures decreasing the inclination to bully. Also during the meeting, we split into smaller groups and built a bridge with building blocks. We used that bridge to symbolize our progress from where we are now as a district to where we want to be in the future. The groups added sticky notes with steps to promoting cultural awareness in their schools. Some steps were school cultural assemblies, posters around the school, and announcements that can be said over the intercom. This our district does an amazing job at promoting diversity in all of our schools so that we feel like we're being judged on the content of our character instead of the color of our skin. Up next is Jefferson
040talking about our April meeting. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Hello, my name is John Alessi. And my name is Bailey Gore. Today we're going to be talking about rigorous instructions. A data point that caught our attention was how often do teachers encourage you to do your best? We noticed that a data point showed a small increase over time while mostly staying the same throughout the years. We wondered if this trend was influenced by the relationships the teachers and students have with each other. Also, we wondered if it was impacted by the learning environment they're in or schedule or if schedules allow for true relationship building. Hi everyone, my name is Carelli Rivero. I'm an eighth grade at Jefferson Junior High School. And adding on to what Bailey and John were saying, um I'm going to
041talk about how we act on it. So, as student leaders, we can take the lead on rigorous instruction to help our peers achieve and to know what their full capability is and to not just shoot for the minimum. Overall, the rigorous instruction data was very high. Our educators have high expectations of learning within our school. In order to continue to reach high levels, we have to encourage students every day to do their best in every way possible inside and outside the school facility. It is important to us to see our friends, peers, and students grow, not just academically and otherwise as well. Adding on to what she said, ideas to increase rigorous instruction is for time to be regularly given for teachers to show students that they care about them and want them to succeed.
042And for time to build relationships with teachers and students. Some additional ideas are for teachers to set clear standards for assessments and tests and to continue to push students to their full potential and not being okay with the minimum standards. By doing this, this makes the students think they could reach more not only inside school but also outside. >> [applause] >> In review, students at SSAC are proud to have worked on various missions driven to enhance student learning. Members have worked hard on critical thinking skills while interpreting Panorama data. From student safety to cultural awareness, we came up with comprehensive recommendations and reflections that have been presented to the board today. In reflection, SSAC members are proud of the work we've accomplished this year. From analyzing Panorama data to developing meaningful recommendations, we have worked
043collaboratively to enhance the student experience. At SSAC, we have a tradition at the end of each meeting where every member shares one way they felt heard. This simple practice has had a powerful impact. It reminds us that the student voice is not only valued but imperative to cultivating a growth environment. We look forward to continuing that tradition next year and enhancing District 203 initiatives. >> [applause] >> This past year, our district was faced with some important challenges from navigating teachers' retentions to fostering a more inclusive environment. In these moments, allowing student voices to be heard is not just empowering but essential. Understanding our fallacies and complementing our successes allows us to reflect and improve for the next few years. In these sessions, students felt heard through open dialogue, being included in decision-making, and having their
044perspectives be genuinely considered. That's That is why what makes SSAC so impactful and why we're so excited to continue this work in the future. Thank you. >> [applause] >> That concludes tonight's presentation from the students. We are going to honor them. Did the board have any questions or otherwise we can just give a round of applause or if you want to make comments. I'll see if my fellow board members have anything to say. No? Holly? No? Miranda? All right, well, I'll take a personal point of privilege to say something if that's okay. Um wow. That pretty much sums it up. Wow. I'm always so impressed with our students. Um so, I just like to take a moment to say thank you to all of our teachers, administration, superintendent, and every single staff member in 203.
045Um in 203, we produce outstanding students. And tonight is a perfect example of the fruits of the labor that we all put into this. And I'm sure you'll all agree that we have a lot to be proud of. So, thank you for your presentation tonight. Thank you for all your work throughout this year. Um because of you, we're going to be better. Okay. Okay, we are going to now recognize all of our students who are on the SSAC this year. There are some students who are absent, we'll still recognize them by name just so that they are honored. And those who are transitioning, our eighth grade students, when they go to high school, your name is shared with the high school leadership as outstanding students that they may want to consider, like I said, for
046additional opportunities. And then we definitely want to wish our seniors well. So, I have a special gift that we will give all of you also once you get your certificate and meet by the wall for a picture, okay? All right. So, Bailey Gore. >> [applause] >> John Alessi. Carelli Rivero. >> [applause] >> Henry Royal. Vivan Agarwal. >> [applause] >> Aliyah Sadau Cowski. Skyler Jenkins. >> [applause] >> Audrey Fanning. Gavin La Match. >> [applause] >> Adrian Morris. Kate Knapp. Ashley Wolf. Ben Ditmers. Henry German. Zeyan Khan. >> [applause] >> Liam Thomas. Anushka Anand. >> [applause] >> Jathra Sriram. Liam Allen Wagner. >> [applause] >> Spencer Bringnac. Khadija Rafathulla. >> [applause] >> Victor Tyson. Cal Moyer. Hadley Benson. Andrew Hevron. Lux Akinde. >> [applause] >> And Colleen Grony and Jose Cornell from Connections are not here. >>
047[applause] >> Thank you so much. >> Okay. All right. This is one of my favorite presentations every year. It's awesome. All right. Um, we have reached the point in our agenda for public comment. The Board of Education welcomes comments from the public at its meetings. Citizens who wish to address the Board of Education should identify themselves by name. Comments by individuals shall be limited to 3 minutes. If the individual is representing multiple individuals or group, they shall be allowed to speak for 5 minutes. The Board respectfully requests that speakers refrain from commenting about specific individuals. Um, at this point I would like to welcome Alicia Smith and to the podium. Alicia. Good evening and welcome. The papers on here from the kids, do you want them or from the side or Thank you for that.
048Sorry. Hello. My name is Alicia Smith. Up until this past February, I worked at Scott School. I was the building rep for Scott School. I am here to talk about the unfairness of Scott School having an earlier student arrival time than every other elementary school in the district. In previous years, Scott School students entered the building at 8:00 a.m. The car rider line started at 7:55 a.m. At this time, support staff would be outside on their assigned days for morning supervision. At 8:00 a.m., the bell would ring and students would be led into the building. Teachers with morning supervision would continue their supervision until 8:15 a.m. This year, administration changed a system that was working to an unfair system for all. Now, instead of waiting until the bell rings at 8:00 a.m., all students enter
049the building at 7:55 a.m. I will repeat this. Administration is having all students enter the building at 7:55 a.m. instead of at 8:00 a.m. Since December, we have shared with administration that Scott staff would prefer to do supervision as they have done in previous years. Support staff was more than willing to supervise students outside starting at 7:55 a.m. We have shared that it is unfair to Scott teachers to have students arrival into the building 5 minutes earlier than every other 203 elementary school. We also shared this information with administration in January and February and March and today. As of this morning, Scott students are still entering the building at 7:55 a.m. This is 63 days of five extra minutes for Scott teachers. That is a total of 315 minutes, which is over 5 hours. All
050those extra minutes add up. Scott staff do not deserve this. They have earned a National Blue Ribbon Award and three consecutive exemplary designations from the state while having the second highest low-income percentage in the district. They have shown that they care deeply about students and are willing to put in the work. You need to listen to Scott staff. Please stop administration from continuing this unfair practice any longer. Thank you. Okay. I do not have any other slips of paper. Is there anyone else in the audience who would like to address the Board of Education? Okay. All right. Um As a reminder, because the questions or comments raised in public comment address district operational matters, the Board has designated our superintendent as the spokesperson for the district as our designate to respond to public comment and
051he will apprise the Board accordingly. This will conclude our public comment period. All right. We have reached the business portion of our meeting. As a reminder to the community, the Board understands and has affirmed the following through our Board Agreements that it is each individual Board member's responsibility to prepare for each meeting. We additionally understand that it's our individual responsibility to effectively communicate our concerns either to the superintendent or Board President prior to any meeting in a timely manner. Um Mr. Bridges, did you receive questions from the Board members in advance of tonight's meeting? Yeah, I received questions from the six Board members in attendance this evening. Okay. Thank you very much. All right. Oh, the other thing that I would like to just remind everyone of is that um the Board of Education as
052a follow-up to our most recent um Board self-evaluation, uh had decided to institute a practice where we would be limiting ourselves to 3 minutes of commentary on each and we've decided to rotate our uh the responsibility to be the timekeeper. And uh this evening, our timekeeper will be uh Joe Kosminski. Okay. All right. So, if Joe says time, that's what that means. Okay. Uh item six, item six, monthly reports. Um in BoardDocs, you've got a number of different Board reports. 6.01, treasury report. Questions or comments from the Board? Okay. 6.02, investment report. 6.03, budget report. And 6.04, insurance report. All these reports are loaded into BoardDocs for your viewing pleasure. All right. Item seven, action by consent. Item seven. Ooh. Could I uh pull 7.05? Okay. >> Or separately. That's all. Sure. Okay. So, um
053I will turn it over to Christine. All right. So, this month I reviewed bills and claims with Michelle and once again, I thank her for her help and it's always a pleasure to connect with her. With that, I move to approve warrant number 1074762 through 1075453 and warrant number through 9000000156 totaling $30,770,399.91 for the period of March 17th, 2026 to April 20th, 2026. And items 7.01, 7.03, and 7.04 as presented. Second. Motion Motion and a second have been heard. Please call the roll. Ms. Patton. Kosminski. Aye. McMillan. Aye. Wilensky. Aye. Gerke. Aye. Blastic. Aye. Kush. >> Aye. The motion passes. Okay, with that action by the Board of Education, I'm excited to announce uh that the Board has approved Dr. Kayla Fleming, the current assistant principal at Anne Reid, to become the principal at Anne
054Reid Early Childhood Center effective July 1, 2026. Congratulations, Kayla. Kayla has uh demonstrated a profound commitment to the students, families, and staff of Anne Reid and her deep understanding of early childhood development, her collaborative approach, her positive outlook, and her enthusiasm Mhm. make her the ideal person to lead this school into its next chapter. Uh so, we congratulate Kayla. Kayla, if there's anything that you briefly need to say, like, "Hi. Thanks. That's it." Thank you so much for the opportunity. I'm Thanks, Kayla. So, with that then, uh Erin Marker, the current principal at Anne Reid, will be transitioning to the role of principal at Mill Street Elementary School and we're looking forward to her continued leadership in the district, and at Mill Street. Thank you. Congratulations, Gail. I move to approve 7.05 as presented. Second.
055Motion and second have been heard. Any discussion? Amanda. So, I just wanted to ask this question out loud. I know that you answered I sent it in advance. Um with this [clears throat] food service contract, um and I know that this is a renewal, right? It's not a brand new one that would be vetted out. But, um it mentions in here that the actual prices of the lunches which would be set by the USDA is not included in this. Could you explain um why we're approving this contract now without the USDA um prices? The The USDA does not set the lunch price. The school board sets the lunch price annually uh that's charged for uh paid lunches. Uh the USDA does set the reimbursement for uh free and reduced uh reimbursement that we receive for
056those students that qualify for that. There When when we're looking at they What the USDA also, if you're on the National School Lunch Program, they have a tool called the paid lunch equity tool that uh we have to complete that helps us determine what that paid price should be. That price is That tool is not available yet. And like last year, um and [clears throat] but those these two things are kind of mutually exclusive. We can we pay our vendor a specific uh per meal charge whether you're paid or free or reduced. And then, the board also sets annual prices for paid meals and reduced meals. Um each year. So, we anticipate having that tool that which helps us calculate what that increase should be when we're making a recommendation. Um and we're looking at
057another uh increase. There There's a minimum increase of 10 cents. Um but we're looking What we need a little more time cuz that tool has not been uh uh re- released yet. We anticipate that being in in the next month or so. Okay. So, I'm going to summarize to make sure I understand. So, basically this contract is just to basically lock in Organic Life as our food vendor, and we have to pay them a minimum amount regardless. That's correct. And then, the USDA kind of sets like what the expected meal prices should be for reimbursement for free and reduced lunches, and we use that kind of to help set the precedent of also regular paid lunches, which then would help us um maybe figure out if what we're collecting from students that are eating our
058food in the schools is actually compensating for the contract. So, they are very They're separate, but together. That's correct. Okay. Well, then I'm good. Thanks. Okay. Any other discussion? Okay. Um motion and second have been heard. Please call the roll, Mrs. Penn. Kush. >> Aye. McMillan. >> Aye. Blastic. >> Aye. Wolensky. Aye. Kasminski. Aye. Gerke. Aye. The motion passes. All right. Item eight, communications um loaded to BoardDocs. Item 8.01, number of written communications. Um and item 8.02, Board of Education reports. Does anyone have a report that they'd like to give um in their capacity as a board member? Amanda. Um I know I joined several of our board members uh attending the NEF uh breakfast this past uh week, which was an amazing celebration. It was great to see so many people from the community
059showing up and showing out for our students, and also just showcasing the amazing work that they're doing. And also learning that uh District 203 was chosen to be a pilot school for the whole nation through LEGO Education, which is pretty cool. Um and I had no idea that out of four LEGOs, so many people would make a duck that looks so different. Um you know, anyways. You had to be there, I guess. But, anyways, it's very um engaging, great event. Really glad I was able to participate. I also just wanted to share that this past weekend I spent two days in Springfield um as a follow-up for the Illinois Association of School Boards strategic planning um component, and I think that we came up with a really great strategic plan that's going to help shape
060the direction of IASB moving uh forward the next five years, really uh focusing on strengthening legislation, um member engagement, and um also communication. And figuring out how to best ways uh to streamline and help members access what they need more easily. So, that's kind of like the the bigger result that we came out of that. So, I'm sure that we'll be um talking about that more in future meetings, especially the Triple I conference coming up in next November. So, thank you. All right. Uh Mark, and then Holly. Thank you, Charles. Uh yeah, I was I was want to thank Charles. Uh I filled in for him at the General Home and School. Uh so, thank you for that opportunity. Uh at the General Home and School, they talked a lot around the uh budget for
061next year, as well as uh receiving the audited financials from uh their auditor. And uh also what the uh next year's leadership is going to start to look like. Um I also attended the Prairie Home and School uh meeting. Uh and uh one thing that they mentioned that I just want to share with everyone is that the Crosstown Classic is this Saturday, uh April 25th at Jefferson Junior High School. Uh so, I hopefully a lot of folks will show up for that. Uh we also uh did this when we uh covered the good news, but I I do want to call out Laura Dostal over at Steeple uh for the work she did in organizing the District 203 art show at the Municipal Center. Uh it just amazes me watching uh what kids do uh
062over the years and how their art becomes uh so much more sophisticated. Uh and I would just love the opportunity to pick one student and just see how their art uh evolved uh from the beginning of their school career all the way to their end of their school career. Uh but, it was uh really great seeing the kids who were so excited uh to get recognized, to bring their parents and uh siblings to the event, uh and see the teachers who really uh work so closely with the students uh to make that art possible. Um as Amanda mentioned, we a lot of us attended the NEF breakfast. Um and uh as as Dan had mentioned, there were about 400 attendees there. Uh the LEGO stuff just blew me away. Uh that that really did. So,
063I totally agree with what Amanda said on that. Uh one thing that they also mentioned was um they're centralizing uh a kids booster resource center that'll be taking place at uh Connections Transitions Services. And that will be an opportunity for uh students who uh need winter clothes, uh personal care products, clothing, uh to come to uh Connections and be able to pick up that uh that stuff. Um I also uh met on Friday uh with uh Keith Langosch, who is the principal at Connections, and it's just amazing uh what they do there. Uh the micro businesses that were mentioned, uh but the uh just even giving the students the training they need to cook food and uh do day-to-day activities uh was just uh wonderful to see, and seeing the kids running the coffee shop
064uh was uh just such a great opportunity. So, really appreciated that. So, thank you. Holly. And just uh this Was it this week? Last week? Uh it was my adopted school, River Woods. I was able to go to the home and school meeting. Uh we had a great presentation from fifth grade student council members, and they were thrilled to talk about all the work they're doing in the garden and how they select what to plant by grade. They had just had a very successful carnival as a fundraiser, and they're planning to bring back the adult social next fall. Um we also had the opportunity um administration was there discussing and answering questions about the assessments um that they do in elementary school, but also in all grades, and talking about um gifted programs, PI, PI
065plus, and honors math. So, we had a really large attendance, and I don't think it was because I was there. It was cuz there were some great presentations from the students and the administration. So, it was a wonderful meeting to attend. Thank you, Holly. Christine. Uh I wanted to just chime in on the NEF breakfast as well. Um it is one of my committee assignments this year. Um I think the only guarantee about the breakfast each year is that you will go to a place, sit at a table, and have breakfast. After that, every year is different. It um it gets better every year. Um not in the grandiose sort of way, but in just um how creative the NEF group is in finding ways to support our students. Uh they they are not complacent
066in any way, shape, or form. And um our community the amount of time, their talent, and their treasure that they contribute to NEF and ultimately to our students is humbling. So, I appreciate everyone that was there. It was a wonderful day, a wonderful way to start your day, and I was happy to see my colleagues there, too. All right. Um Joe? I I agree 100% with what everyone said about the NEF breakfast. Uh great event. Um It it is just amazing that NEF keeps on finding uh you know, kind of new directions, new ways to go, new ways to to support uh this community. Um so, I I I want to thank them for all of their work uh and another uh great event. Fantastic. Okay. All right. Um item 8.03, President's report. So, I
067will echo everything everyone said about the uh the NEF breakfast. Um Uh the It's funny, Christine, when you said the only thing you can guarantee is that you have breakfast. I said the only thing that you can get also that that you can guarantee is that they're going to make you feel really emotional about stuff. Um just the the stories, the the passion. Um it's just it's just wonderful. Uh and yeah, I completely agree. They find really really innovative creative ways to build programs that support our students in ways that support our students. And the resource center that they're putting into Connections and that program that they announced and how that not only helps the students throughout the district, but then also the folks at the Connections program in terms of building skills and things
068like that that are going to help them throughout their lives. So, um just couldn't be more proud of the work that's happening there. Um the other thing I'll just report out on is I had the opportunity to attend a meeting with um 10 other DuPage County Board of Education board presidents um at uh IASB at the end of last year. Uh group got together and said, "Hey, let's get together and uh talk about a few things." And the IASB folks um graciously hosted us uh at their offices in Lombard. And so, um um the current plan is for that group to get together once a month, once every other month, something like that, just to um talk, share ideas, share best practices, and things like that across our district. So, um very thankful for the
069IASB folks of hosting it for hosting us and for allowing us that opportunity. Okay. Item 8.04, Superintendent staff school report. No report tonight. Okay. Item nine, discussion without action. We have no discussion without action. Item 10, discussion with action. Item 10.01, new course proposals. Okay, so a reminder for the board. Uh each of the items listed here under action was presented to the Board of Education at the April 6th meeting uh with the recommendation for action this evening. Uh so, um we'll continue to be happy to answer any questions that you have. Uh for new course new proposals, Andrew Schapanski, uh lead principal for innovation, uh was here to present those uh recommendations to the board at our last meeting. Uh Jane Worton, our assistant superintendent for learning services, is here. If there are any
070questions from the board, we recommend you approve the new courses as presented. Uh I will entertain a motion. Motion to approve item 10.01, new course proposals. Second. Motion and second have been heard. Any discussion? Holly. Um I just wanted to discuss the Exploring AI class because that is a um it's technology that I have a lot of ethical and educational and environmental concerns on. Um I think I'm more comment than question. Um I really appreciate how this course is structured to include critical thinking and acknowledging those drawbacks of AI, you know, the environmental impact, what it means to our learning, and ethically completing our assignments, and how to appropriately use it. Um I'm going to vote no I don't on this because to me creating a class titled AI and exploring AI lends it a
071legitimacy that I don't think it has earned. Um and I'm particularly concerned with its impact on the future economic opportunities of our students. Um that it's anti-intellectual, you know, it gets you to an an end point rather than learning how to go through um and actually take the steps to learn. And I'm really concerned about the environmental impacts, and I appreciate that that is built into the course. I know we talk about that in other courses um throughout the school, but I can't support having a class specifically on AI. Other comments? Okay. Seeing none. Um motion and second have been heard. Please call the roll, Mrs. Patton. McMillan. I. Kosminski. I. Wolinsky. I. Kush. >> I. Gerke. I. Blastic. Nay. The motion passes. Um Item 10.02, instructional resources. Yeah, Jennifer Donatelli, director of curriculum and
072instruction, was at the April 6th meeting to present the recommendations to the board. Um Jane will also answer any questions that the board may have on this. Recommend you approve as presented. Take any questions you have. I'll entertain a motion. Motion to approve item 10.02, instructional resources. Second. Motion and second have been heard. Uh any discussion? Seeing none. Uh please call the roll, Mrs. Patton. McMillan. I. Blastic. I. Wolinsky. I. Gerke. I. Kush. I. Kosminski. I. The motion passes. Um item 10.03, policy review. Policy 7.180, preventing bullying, intimidation, and harassment. Yeah, each of the next three agenda items were presented by Dr. Cohen at the April 6th meeting, and as a reminder for the board, Holly and Amanda are the liaisons to this committee uh and were a part of the process. Uh we recommend
073for each of them that you all approve these. We'll take them one at a time, uh but answer any questions that you have in regard to 7180. I was actually going to ask could we look to take these three together since they were all You just have to make the motion clear that it includes all three policies, yeah. Okay. Would someone like to make that motion, or does anyone want to talk about them individually? I'll make a motion to approve items 3.0 I'm sorry, 10.03, 10.04, and 10.05 as presented. Second. Motion and second have been heard. Any discussion? Seeing none. Please Oh, sorry. Holly. I just wanted to reiterate what Amanda had said previously. This was a wonderfully planned multiple meetings, but for us they were all in one day. And the students, again, their
074insights and their commentary was wonderful. The They really participated and helped us understand what it's like to be in school and how these policies will affect them, and they were very thoughtful. And um Dr. Cohen did a wonderful job facilitating it as well. Um so, just really appreciative of that process and our students and staff of facilitating it. Awesome. Thank you. Any other comments? Okay. All right. Seeing none others. Um motion and second have been heard. Please call the roll, Mrs. Patton. Gerke. I. Kosminski. I. McMillan. I. Wolinsky. I. Blastic. I. Kush. I. The motion passes. Item 10.06, facility rental fees. Okay, at the April 6th meeting, uh Chuck Froint and Mel Neff Brown presented a recommendation to the board uh as I guess I would describe as kind of like a phase one of
075a look at our facility rental fees. Um the additional additional facility spaces caused a need for us to take at least the initial step. Um recommend you approve it as presented. Happy to answer any questions. I'll entertain a motion. So moved. Second. Motion and second have been heard. Any discussion? Mark. Yeah, I I just want to clarify uh even though it's called facility rental fees, based on our discussion and and questions, uh this really pertains just to the turf in terms of creating what the uh rental fee would be. That's correct. Um yeah, so we wanted to focus on the turf because that is the new newest facility. Uh the additional um spaces will be in forthcoming. Thank you for confirming that. And and and just to make sure that it's clear, the personnel costs
076associated with all facility rentals, so that those uh personnel costs wouldn't be applied only to turf fields, but really to all of our facilities. Thank you for clarifying that. Other questions or discussion? Okay. Seeing none. Please call the roll, Mrs. Patton. Wolinsky. I. Gerke. I. Kush. I. McMillan. I. Kosminski. I. Blastic. I. The motion passes. All right. Item 11, old business. Having no old business, item 12, new business. We have no new business. Item 13, upcoming events. Item 13.01, schedule of events. >> Okay, May 4th is our next Board of Education meeting. I'm not particularly one, but I just realized that's on the Star Wars day, isn't it? The May the 4th be with you. All right, okay. Okay. And May 17th will be graduation for Naperville Central and Naperville North and Dr. Kohn. I
077think we can finally confirm that Mark, Amanda, Charles are the board members who will go to Central. Joe, Melissa, Christine, and Holly will attend Naperville North. So, we'll make sure Susan will make sure to remind me. We'll make sure the two high schools and I get that information. So. All right. Item 14, adjournment. Item 14.01, motion to adjourn. I will entertain a motion to adjourn. So moved. Second. Motion and a second have been heard. Any discussion? Please call the roll, Mrs. Patton. Blastic. Aye. Wolinsky. Aye. Gerke. Aye. McMillan. Aye. Kozminski. Aye. Kush. Aye. The motion passes. We are adjourned. Everyone get home safely.